Chapter 401: A Pirate’s Dilemma

Gin wasn’t about to lose face—he swung his black iron staff, fending off blades coming at him from all directions.

“Ace, you’re Luffy’s brother, right?” Ye Fan landed lightly on the rooftop where Ace was sitting and spoke in a low voice.

How to describe Ace? He definitely has what it takes to be a pirate. He might not go around burning, slaughtering, and looting, but he’s certainly got his share of mischief.

But hey, that’s just how things go in this brutal pirate world.

If you aren’t ruthless here, you’ll end up at the very bottom of society—if you’re not worried about being sold into slavery, you’re still watching your back for a surprise pirate attack.

Really, it’s the world that’s sick, not the people.

“Uh, and you are?” Ace scratched his head, eyeing Ye Fan who had come over to him.

Is this guy one of Luffy’s crewmates too? Why didn’t I see him earlier?

The reason Ace didn’t step in to help was that this was Luffy’s fight, not his. Plus, it was the perfect chance to see just how much Luffy had grown since setting out to sea.

At first, Ace was shocked watching Luffy show off his power and intimidating Haki.

Back when Ace set sail, Luffy was way weaker than this. Did he really change this much in just a few months? Guess that’s my little brother for you.

“Name’s Ye Fan, I’m the first mate of the Straw Hat Pirates.” These days, the title ‘first mate’ rolled off Ye Fan’s tongue more naturally than ever.

Honestly, if Ye Fan hadn’t secretly slipped Great Revitalizing Pill powder into their meals, who knows if they’d have made it this far.

But patience wasn’t his strong suit—pushing the protagonist forward meant pushing the whole world’s story forward.

Now, only one task remained—his ultimate mission: overturn the regime!

As the name suggests, that meant toppling the current rulers and taking the throne himself.

Obviously, that would mean making good use of Luffy’s power. Who knows what kind of changes might come after the world gets flipped upside-down?

“Luffy owes a lot to you guys, thanks for looking out for him!”

Ace knew Luffy’s personality inside and out—they’d grown up together, after all.

What puzzled him, though, was that he could more or less gauge Zoro’s and Sanji’s strength, but standing in front of Ye Fan, Ace couldn’t sense anything at all. Was Ye Fan stronger than him?

Ace shook his head at the thought. No way, right?

Luffy and his crew haven’t been at sea that long. Maybe it’s a Devil Fruit ability, Ace reasoned with himself.

“Your target’s Blackbeard, isn’t it?”

“How’d you know?”

Ace shot up, completely stunned. He’d never told anyone from Luffy’s crew about his target. How could this guy calling himself the Straw Hats’ first mate know?

Maybe he had ulterior motives? That thought put Ace on edge, and flames danced in his right palm.

“Whoa, take it easy! Relax!”

“Don’t you read the news?” Ye Fan noticed the flames in Ace’s hand and the surge of energy around him—if he didn’t say something, the next second they’d probably be fighting.

Ye Fan quickly pulled a newspaper from his coat and handed it to Ace.

Ace, still suspicious, snuffed out the fire and took the paper from Ye Fan’s hand.

“Four Emperors—Whitebeard: Things You Never Knew?”

“Whitebeard’s son, Blackbeard—Teach, fled after killing one of his crewmates. The Whitebeard Pirates have made a statement promising to bring him back and deal with him personally…”

And so on and so forth—the article ran for hundreds of words.

Ace, ever since leaving the Whitebeard Pirates, hadn’t read a newspaper in ages.

He even dined and dashed all the time—there’s no way he’d have money for a newspaper from the carrier pigeons.

“Didn’t expect the news to spread this far already.”

Ace was still young—he had no idea just how powerful the News King’s reach was. If it wasn’t for Karl’s orders to keep certain headlines out of the Four Seas,

There could be enough major events each day to fill dozens of papers.

But this was the Grand Line. Here, there were new papers printed every day—regional news, royal news, Four Emperors specials, and so on.

“But tell me—do you really think Blackbeard killed Thatch just by catching him off guard?”

“If your actions end up wiping out the Whitebeard Pirates, would you still go after Blackbeard?”

That’s not just Ye Fan’s question—a lot of fans have wondered the same.

Ace can be pretty arrogant—he honestly thinks he can drag Blackbeard back all on his own.

But Blackbeard took down Thatch, and Thatch was the Fourth Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates—you don’t get that far up the ranks without being strong.

Their strengths were at least equal. If we’re talking pure physical ability, Ace was definitely behind. Where did all this confidence to chase Blackbeard come from?

Maybe it runs in the family. Whitebeard himself was just as arrogant—even when Shanks showed up in person, he refused to call Ace back. That stubbornness sowed the seeds of their downfall.

“Hahaha!!!”

Ace burst out laughing, as if he’d just heard the best joke.

“In this whole sea, there aren’t many forces that could destroy the Whitebeard Pirates—but the Grand Line’s got at least one.”

At this point, Ace stopped laughing and looked at Ye Fan with grave seriousness.

In the New World, the Four Emperors keep each other in check. Secret alliances aren’t out of the question either.

So in the New World, no one force can wipe out another completely—but this isn’t the New World.

They were in the first half of the Grand Line, right under the Navy Headquarters.

“You mean the Navy? No way. They’d never pick a fight with the Whitebeard Pirates.” Ace was confident—the Navy wouldn’t dare trigger a war between the Four Emperors.

It would set off a chain reaction. If they couldn’t put out the fire, the Navy’s bases across the Grand Line—even those at the New World entrance—would be wiped out.

Even if they did take down one Emperor’s crew, the Navy’s own strength would drop off sharply. That’d make things even crazier in the New World, maybe letting the other Emperors push their territory right up to the Grand Line’s first half.

“Of course, the Navy wouldn’t go after you themselves. But why would they have to?”

“Have you considered what happens if you lose to Blackbeard, and he just so happens to start scheming with the Navy?”

“I’ve heard Blackbeard’s working on becoming one of the Seven Warlords. What if he uses you as a bargaining chip? Do you really think you’re strong enough to beat Blackbeard?”

Ye Fan couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Roger’s kid was way too naïve.

The world’s never black and white—it’s all sorts of gray. Even if the Navy doesn’t openly hunt Ace, just watch how fast they take him if someone else hands him over.